It didn’t take long after drinking the first Uiltje beers to understand that this brewery was something special. Overnight Robbert Uyleman’s beers were ranked among the best beers in the country. Since then things went fast, production increased, the line of beers increased and het Uiltje could be seen at festivals not only in the Holland, but also in the U.S.
Late last year we reported the opening of their bar, and we finally got around to visiting it on our way to the festival in Den Haag, where incidentally Robbert was picking up an award for one his many beers.
And we were not disappointed. A huge drawn owl laughed at us from the wall when we walked in. The mostly black and white interior front part make it light and artful, the booths in the back have more of an café feel with bottles of other breweries all lined up overhead and T-shirts hanging on the walls. Het Uiltje’s owl logo is everywhere and the simple drawing is effective because very recognizable.
The one thing I had no doubts about was the beer. 30 taps with delicious stuff from het Uiltje and likeminded breweries. In this case for example beers from The Kernel, Redwillow, Emelisse, Brewdog and Lervig. But the good bar that it is, this can change any day. This also means that this is one of the few places in the country (with the Beertemple and Craft&Draft) where even a seasoned beerhunter will find more unknown than known brews.
But it is easy to sample a lot of these by getting the paddle, 4 little glasses for €12,50 and including a glass of water. The tasting paddle is custom made and has a glass of water. If for some reason you have had everything on tap, there are still a lot of bottles and cans you can drink as well.
And if you’re hungry you can get pizza, yes, beer and pizza, that combo from heaven that also give the bar a homely feeling. Nothing wrong with fine dining, but sometimes you just want a good IPA and a pepperoni pizza.
Extra credit for the wonderful sausage made by local sausage maker Olijck, often made with Jopen beer. Someone should really start a blog about all the great new sausage makers…
The Uiltje bar will from now on also be on my itinerary everytime I am in Haarlem, and fortunately for me Haarlem isn’t too far away. It is definitely one of my 5 favorite brewery based bars in the country. Well done sirs, you’ve added a new pilgrimage site to the Dutch beer scene.
The Dutch Beer Pages 